


The sand, the waves, and you

by Nary



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Awkwardness, Beaches, Cute, Day At The Beach, Developing Relationship, F/M, Feelings Realization, First Kiss, Fluff, Surprises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2018-04-17
Packaged: 2019-04-23 23:23:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14343126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nary/pseuds/Nary
Summary: Lance peered out before them and was amazed to see the forested landscape thin out and become dunes of sand scattered with tall grass, and then ahead, a wide expanse of pale green water, its surface broken by gentle waves capped with a fine edge of white.  "You found a beach!" he exclaimed, leaning forward in his seat as though it could get him there a few ticks sooner.





	The sand, the waves, and you

**Author's Note:**

> A gift fic for mynameisquiche - I hope you like it, and sorry it took so long!

"Why are we heading all the way out here?" Lance asked over the comm. Their lions were flying over an expanse of scrubby, twisted trees, not like the other magnificent forests on Olkarion that they were used to. Pidge had been exploring the planet more than the rest of them, so when she'd told him that she'd found something he might be interested in, Lance had been willing to go along. But the trip had taken longer than he'd expected, and Pidge was still keeping silent about what exactly she'd discovered. 

"Almost there," she replied from the cockpit of the Green Lion. "Look up ahead and you can see it." She sounded almost nervous, or full of barely-suppressed excitement.

Lance peered out before them and was amazed to see the forested landscape thin out and become dunes of sand scattered with tall grass, and then ahead, a wide expanse of pale green water, its surface broken by gentle waves capped with a fine edge of white. "You found a beach!" he exclaimed, leaning forward in his seat as though it could get him there a few ticks sooner.

They set their lions down on the flattest stretch they could find, sending up a spray of wet sand as they landed. Lance couldn't wait to get out and look around. When they emerged, he immediately took off his helmet and tossed it aside, finding that, while it wasn't by any means tropical, the temperature was nevertheless considerably hotter than in the temperate forests favored by the Olkari people - they were closer to the planet's equator here, and no doubt it helped that they weren't shaded by the trees here, so the sun's rays could actually reach them. The air had an unfamiliar scent, not as salty as the breeze off Earth's oceans, but something more metallic. It wasn't bad, though - he could definitely get used to it.

"Is it an ocean?" he asked Pidge, who was standing nearby with her helmet under her arm, just watching him take in the scene.

"An inland sea," she replied. "It's big, though - you can't see from one side of it to the other when you're standing on the shore."

Lance put a hand over his eyes and peered out towards the horizon, where the water stretched as far as he could see. "It's beautiful," he said. It wasn't home, but then nowhere was. "Is it safe to swim in?" He often swam in the Castle Ship's pool, of course, but it wasn't nearly as much fun as swimming outdoors.

Pidge nodded. "I took readings the first time I came out here - the water's got a high copper content, along with some other trace minerals, but it's fine, as far as that goes. The Olkari don't really go in for swimming for fun - something about not wanting to be that far away from trees - or else this place would probably be packed."

"I wish I'd brought my--" Lance's thought was interrupted by Pidge producing a bag he hadn't noticed up to that point and holding it out to him.

"Bathing suit?" she said with a smile. "It's in there, and a towel too."

Lance's grin was radiant. "You're the best, Pidge!" 

She adjusted her glasses, looking embarrassed. "I just thought you'd like it. I know you've been missing home, and I figured, well, if we can't go there, maybe this was the next best thing..."

"Yeah!" Lance exclaimed. "We should bring everyone here and have a beach party, a cookout, maybe camp overnight..."

"Oh," said Pidge, "yeah. Sure, I guess... if you want..." A certain reluctance in her tone broke Lance out of his excited plans, and he turned to her. 

"You don't want to? I'm sure Hunk would have some great recipes he could whip up, and Coran would love exploring this place..."

"It's not that," she said. "It sounds like fun. And everyone could sure use a break. It's just... maybe it's dumb, but I wanted to do something special for you..." She trailed off, as if uncertain how to continue.

Suddenly the pieces began to fall into place for Lance. "You found this place for me, to help cheer me up," he said slowly. "You knew I was feeling homesick, so you went and looked for someplace that might remind me of home."

Pidge shrugged, blushing slightly. "I mean, kind of? I wasn't _just_ looking for this, I was keeping an eye out for lots of things - it's a fascinating planet to explore! And I'm not trying to hide it from the others. I just wanted to share it with you first... on our own..."

"Oh," said Lance, and then a longer, drawn out _"ohhhhhhh"_ of dawning realization. He stepped over to Pidge, reaching out to take the bag from her. But rather than heading off to change, he dropped it to the sand, where it landed with a soft thump, so that he could take her hand in his instead. "I can't thank you enough," he told her, smiling softly. "This is the sweetest thing anyone's done for me."

Pidge looked up at him, the breeze blowing in off the water gently ruffling her short hair. "You mean it?"

"Absolutely," Lance said. He felt like an idiot that it had taken him this long to realize how he felt about her, but at least he'd figured it out now. He bent down and leaned in carefully to kiss her, giving her plenty of time to pull away on the off-chance that he'd horribly misread the signals. Evidently he hadn't, because instead of recoiling, she stretched up on her tiptoes, dropping her helmet so that she could wrap her hand around the back of his neck and mash her lips against his with considerable enthusiasm, if less finesse. Lance grinned, matching her eagerness. 

"That was... wow," she said at last. Her eyes were wide with astonishment and happiness. 

"Yeah, definitely wow," he echoed. "So... did you bring a bathing suit for yourself too?"

Pidge nodded with an unaccustomed shyness. "Yeah, but I wasn't sure if I'd get to use it. I thought you might want to have some time to yourself."

"Are you kidding?" Lance wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. "I get to spend the whole afternoon at the beach with a gorgeous girl - what could be better?"

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on Tumblr at [naryrising](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/naryrising) if you want to ask questions, make requests, or chat!


End file.
